WILLIAM ROBINSON
The artist’s garden, house and memories
AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S
60th Anniversary Exhibition 1956 - 2016
WILLIAM ROBINSON The artist’s garden, house and memories
Melbourne 14 June - 3 July 2016 Sydney 19 July - 7 August 2016
AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S
60th Anniversary Exhibition 1956 - 2016 1
Contents Ar tist statement by William Robinson
4-5
Australian Galleries 60th Anniversar y by Stuar t Pur ves
8-9
Australian Galleries: 60 years on by Caroline Field
10 - 11
Paintings
12 - 39
Pastels
40 - 61
Gouaches
62 - 65
Farmyard Series
66 - 73
Biographical Details
75 - 77
List of Works
79
3
I am eighty and for a while now the subject matter of my painting has shifted from the landscape to my house and garden. My mind is never far from the farms and animals and they too are very close to where I live. I remember a film made in 1956 when Picasso was a little younger than I am now. The French film maker was Henri-Georges Clouzot. The drawn images of Picasso were spontaneous and from memory. He went back over several motifs and I saw that in old age the artist had a whole visual history that he drew from. There was no sense that the artist should hesitate before re reading the images of his life. I did a great deal of teaching in Colleges and now if I am asked what advice I would give to young artists, I would say make a life, create your art out of this life. I am indeed fortunate that I made this life with my wife and family and they provide the life-spring for my art. This is always related to where we have lived – in the suburbs, on farms and near to the sea and some travelling, eg. to the Carnarvon Gorge in Central Queensland. My day includes music and this helps me to allow intuition to resolve my work. It does take perseverance to stand for hours and larger works need weeks of primary work and months of return visits. A fresh eye can reveal if there are adjustments necessary for a full resolution. I welcome the direct and honest responses of children to my work and I feel I am at my best when I have no need to explain what I am doing. There is a short poem by Afanasy Fet (Russian 1820 – 1892) which seems to say what is important and what is left. Art is a solitary pursuit and my books provide the images of great art that I can no longer travel to see. This solitude includes my wife and is how I work now. William Robinson, 2016
My genius, my angel, my friend (A. Fet) Is it not here that, like an insubstantial shadow, My genius, my angel, my friend, You converse quietly with me And hover quietly around? And you give me timid inspiration, And heal this sweet sickness, And give me peaceful dreams, My genius, my angel, my friend!
5
7
Left: 35 Derby Street Collingwood, 1956. Proposal for gallery exterior which Charles Bush painted prior to the gallery opening in 1956. At the time the gallery was just the square black factory building. In 1970 the driveway to the right with decorated panel along with the terrace house was purchased adding to the gallery space in which it operates to this day. Right: 35 Derby Street Collingwood, 2016.
Above: 15 Roylston Street, Paddington Sydney, opened 1989 Right: 28 Derby Street, Collingwood Melbourne Stock Rooms, opened 2009
Anne Purves
Tam Purves
Australian Galleries 60th Anniversary We are very privileged that William Robinson agreed to exhibit his recent works marking this significant milestone for the Purves family. It is also a great honour that Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin AM will open the exhibition and speak of the gallery.
I consider myself most fortunate that my parents began a commercial art gallery in 1956 and named it Australian Galleries. I was 10 years old then, little was I to know the decision would not only set their track in life but mine as well. I joined Tam and Anne in 1966 and my life has been filled with the most remarkable people ever since.
Stuart Purves 9
Australian Galleries: 60 years on Australian Galleries is one of the oldest, largest and most respected commercial galleries in Australia, and for more than six decades has represented the nation’s most distinguished artists, including Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, John Brack, John Coburn, Inge King, Colin Lanceley, Sidney Nolan, Justin O’Brien, Margaret Olley, John Olsen, John Perceval, Lloyd Rees, William Robinson, Garry Shead, Jeffrey Smart, Tim Storrier, Albert Tucker, Brett Whiteley, Fred Williams and John Wolseley. It is an exceptional gallery that has made an indelible contribution to Australian art history, and has been a cornerstone of modern Australian art and artists. The gallery was largely Anne Purves’s creation. Born of her appreciation for modern art and her aspirations to become an artist, her search for personal fulfilment led her down an alternative path within the creative world. In the 1940’s Anne was drawn to Melbourne’s artistic circles, where she developed an affinity with a new generation of modern artists. She became acutely aware of the lack of professional support and the limited opportunities for emerging and recognised artists to develop their practice. Sensing the need for a professionally run, commercial gallery dealing in contemporary art, she and her husband, Thomas ‘Tam’ Purves, made the ground-breaking decision to close their successful paper pattern-making business and convert their factory premises in Derby Street, Collingwood into an art gallery. With only a few commercial galleries operating around Australia at the time, and the market for modern art yet to be consolidated, it was an enormous risk that would require determination and perseverance. Australian Galleries quietly opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, 5 June 1956, becoming one of the first commercial art galleries dedicated to Australian art in post–World War II Melbourne. From the beginning, the gallery’s policy was to represent, promote and sell the work of living artists. In the first two years of operation Australian Galleries presented a succession of remarkable exhibitions, including the now-iconic series of works: John Perceval’s ‘Williamstown’ and ‘Gaffney’s Creek’, John Brack’s ‘Nude’, and Arthur Boyd’s ‘Bride’. The commercial management of the new venture supported the artists, enabling Boyd and his family to go overseas for the first time, where he established his reputation as an international artist. The success of Brack’s exhibition provided the means for the artist to buy a family home. In a developing market for modern figurative art, the gallery actively encouraged the interest of corporate and private collectors, and this propelled many artists to prominence. The successful exhibitions by Perceval,
Brack and Boyd, together with Albert Tucker, established a new commercial gallery structure to improve the value of art in Australia. It was a new dynamic for the Australian art world; a career for an artist was now a possibility. Stuart Purves joined the family business in 1966, shortly before the death of his father. Anne was steadfast in her determination to continue the vision she and her husband had set out for the pioneering business and for the Australian art world. In what was to become the second era of the gallery, she continued to operate the business with the support of her son. It became an extraordinary partnership, which led the gallery to a new level of success and expansion. On Tuesday, 25 July 1989, Australian Galleries, Sydney was launched. The unbeatable combination of Anne’s prominence in the art world and Stuart’s energy and commitment created an influential interstate commercial gallery set up, and today numerous significant works in major state and public collections owe their provenance to Australian Galleries. Now in its sixtieth year of operation and under the sole national direction of Stuart, the gallery has added exhibition spaces, developed design and archive departments, and attracted a diverse range of excellent contemporary artists to join the gallery’s representation. Stuart’s partner Kerri Daniell entered the gallery in 2005 and has since been responsible for financially and technically driving the business creatively into the 21st century, leaving Stuart free to work closely with artists and clients. Stuart’s sister, Caroline Purves, manages the archives department and daughters Tamsin and Victoria, and more recently grandson Henry Renn, have become part of the family business. Drawing on his family’s rich history and knowledge that has produced the country’s longest-serving, second-generation commercial art gallery, Stuart leads the venture within an ever-evolving and challenging art market, giving the public the confidence to partake in and enjoy the commercial art market. As an institution, Australian Galleries remains a pivotal force in Australian culture.
Caroline Field Australian Galleries Biographer April 2016
11
13
1. Jacaranda with ginger and lilies 2014 oil on linen 112 x 168 cm
15
17
2. Poinciana with allamanda and ferns 2015 oil on linen 112 x 168 cm
19
3. Native flowers with lime and fig trees 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm
4. Native flowers and gumnuts 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm
21
5. Verandah with king parrot 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm
6. Flowers from the garden 2014 oil on linen 122 x 97 cm
23
7. Sunflowers and peaches 2014 oil on linen 82 x 66 cm
25
8. Self portrait with salmon heads 2014 oil on linen 78 x 53 cm
27
9. Still life with stunned mullet 2014 oil on linen 53 x 78 cm
10. Byron bouillabaisse 2014 oil on linen 53 x 78 cm
29
11. Still life with Moses perch 2014 oil on linen 41 x 56 cm
12. Fruit, vegetables and Dutch jug 2015 oil on linen 41.5 x 54.5 cm
31
13. Still life with duck eggs and herbs 2014 oil on linen 41 x 51 cm
14. Figure with fruit and bread 2013 oil on linen 41 x 51 cm
33
15. Ranunculus 2014 oil on linen 36 x 31 cm
16. Cherries 2014 oil on linen 36 x 31 cm
35
17. Arabian pot with apples 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm
18. Coffee with bread and jam 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm
37
19. Plums 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm
20. Tea with rock cakes 2014 oil on linen 31 x 36 cm
39
41
21. Spring bouquet in Carnival glass jug 2014 pastel on paper 77 x 57 cm
22. Sunflowers, pomegranates and limes 2015 pastel on paper 77 x 57 cm
43
23. Amaryllis and apples 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm
24. Coffee and croissants 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm
45
25. Bouquet with fruit and yellow cloth 2015 pastel on paper 57 x 77 cm
26. Banksia and eucalypt flowers 2015 pastel on paper 71 x 56 cm
47
27. Pumpkin scones with fruit 2014 pastel on paper 52 x 69 cm
28. Daffodils, hyacinths and roses 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm
49
29. Poppies in Carlton Ware 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm
30. Ranunculus in Charlotte Rhead vase 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm
51
31. Edwardian jug and blue bottle 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm
32. Still life with Arabian pot 2014 pastel on paper 63 x 48 cm
53
33. Australian native flowers 2014 pastel on paper 48 x 63 cm
34. Mixed vegetables with copper pot 2015 pastel on paper 46 x 55 cm
55
35. Native flowers and watering can 2014 pastel on paper 29 x 36 cm
36. Summer flowers in Poole jug 2014 pastel on paper 29 x 36 cm
57
59
37. The pink chrysanthemum 2012 oil pastel on paper 29 x 33 cm
38. Native flowers with whisky jug 2012 oil pastel on paper 25 x 17 cm
61
63
39. Bouquet with iron pot 2013 gouache on paper 45 x 35 cm
40. Wattle, banksia, fruit and bread 2013 gouache on paper 28 x 38 cm
65
67
41. Chookyard with gobbler 2015 gouache on paper 35 x 50 cm
42. Farmyard with crossing paths 2015 gouache on paper 35 x 50 cm
69
43. Farmyard with clarion call 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm
44. Farmyard with feeding the chooks 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm
71
45. Farmyard with fence sitters 2015 gouache on paper 25 x 35 cm
73
William Robinson ~ select biographical details Born 1936, Brisbane, Australia SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016
‘The artist’s garden, house and memories’, Australian Galleries, Sydney
‘The artist’s garden, house and memories’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
2015-16 ‘Inspirations’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 2014-15 ‘Infinite sphere’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 2014
Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
2013
‘The farmyards’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
2012
‘Still life and landscape paintings 2010 – 2012’, Australian Galleries, Sydney
‘Still life and landscape paintings 2010 – 2012’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
‘Insights’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
2011
‘William Robinson: The transfigured landscape’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
2010
‘Hinterland: The rainforest works of William Robinson’, William Robinson Gallery, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
‘Ekka series 1-20’, Phillip Bacon Heritage Gallery, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
‘Twenty ink drawings, Eight paintings, One sculpture, New works 2009’, Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne
‘Twenty ink drawings, Eight paintings, One sculpture, New works 2009’, Australian Galleries, Roylston Street, Sydney
2009
‘Paintings 2009’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
2007
‘Paintings and Lithographs 2000 – 2007’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
‘Paintings and Lithographs 2000 – 2007’, Australian Galleries, Sydney
2006
‘Paintings and Pastels 2006’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
2005
‘Landscapes’, Australian Galleries, Sydney
‘Landscapes’, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
2004
‘Place & Memory: The Graphic Work of William Robinson’, QUT Art Museum, travelling to Cairns Regional Art Gallery;
Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery; Gold Coast City Art Gallery; New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale;
Stonington Stables Museum of Art, Deakin University, Melbourne; Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery; Wagga Wagga Regional
Art Gallery
‘Self portraits 2004’, Australian Galleries Works on Paper, Melbourne
‘Self portraits 2004’, Australian Galleries Works on Paper, Sydney
‘Self portraits 2004’, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
‘William Robinson: The Revelation of Landscape’, University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide 75
2003
Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
‘William Robinson: The Revelation of Landscape’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney; & Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery,
Mornington, VIC
2002
Australian Galleries, Sydney
Australian Galleries, Melbourne
2001
‘Darkness and Light – The Art of William Robinson’, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Philip Bacon Gallery, Brisbane
Australian Galleries, Works on Paper, Melbourne
Australian Galleries, Works on Paper, Sydney
1998
Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1997
Ray Hughes Gallery, Savode, Brisbane
1996
Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1994
Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1992
Darren Knight Gallery, Melbourne
1991
‘Creation Landscape: Water and Land’, Ray Hughes Gallery stand, International Print Fair, Sydney
Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
‘Selected Works from the University Art Collection’, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
1989
Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, Brisbane
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1988
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1986
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1985
Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1984
‘Ray Hughes Gallery at Reconnaissance’, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne
1982
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1981
‘Farm Images’, New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW
1980
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1978
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1977
Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1975
Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, Brisbane
1974
Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne
1971
Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne
1969
Design Arts Centre, Brisbane
1967
Design Arts Centre, Brisbane
AWARDS 2009
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
2007
Officer of the Order (AO), Queen’s Birthday Honours, Australia
2005
Honorary Doctorate, Griffith University, Brisbane
2002
Honorary Doctorate, University of South Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD
1998
Honorary Doctorate, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
1996
Wynne Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1995
Archibald Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1991-92 John McCaughey Memorial Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 1990
Wynne Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1987
Archibald Prize (Winner), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1985
Aberdare Art Prize (Winner), Ipswich City Art Gallery, Ispwich, QLD
1970
David Jones Painting Prize, Australia
1956
Godfrey Rivers Memorial Medal, Central Technical College, Brisbane
COLLECTIONS ANZ Bank, Australia
Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane
Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, VIC
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW
Artbank, Sydney
Parliament House, Canberra
Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Australian Print Workshop Archive, Melbourne
Queensland University Art Museum, Brisbane
Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, VIC
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, VIC
Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Redcliffe, QLD
Brisbane Grammar School, Brisbane
Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton, QLD
Burnie Regional Art Gallery, Burnie, TAS
Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Stanthorpe, QLD
Cairns Regional Art Gallery, Cairns, QLD
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Sydney
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba, QLD
First Chicago National Bank, Chicago, USA
Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, NSW
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise, QLD
UC Art Collection, University of Canberra, Canberra
Griffith University, Brisbane
University of New South Wales, Sydney
IBM, Australia
University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
Ipswich City Art Gallery, Ipswich, QLD
University of Tasmania Fine Art Collection, Hobart
JP Morgan Chase, Australia
Vatican Museums, Vatican City
Macquarie Bank, Australia
Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW
Melbourne State College, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne
Waikato Art Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA 77
List of Works No. Title
Year
Medium
Size
1.
Jacaranda with ginger and lilies
2014
oil on linen
112 x 168 cm
2.
Poinciana with allamanda and ferns
2015
oil on linen
112 x 168 cm
3.
Native flowers with lime and fig trees
2014
oil on linen
122 x 97
cm
4.
Native flowers and gumnuts
2014
oil on linen
122 x 97
cm
5.
Verandah with king parrot
2014
oil on linen
122 x 97
cm
6.
Flowers from the garden
2014
oil on linen
122 x 97
cm
7.
Sunflowers and peaches
2014
oil on linen
82 x 66
cm
8.
Self portrait with salmon heads
2014
oil on linen
78 x 53
cm
9.
Still life with stunned mullet
2014
oil on linen
53 x 78
cm
10. Byron bouillabaisse
2014
oil on linen
53 x 78
cm
11. Still life with Moses perch
2014
oil on linen
41 x 56
cm
12. Fruit, vegetables and Dutch jug
2015
oil on linen
41.5 x 54.5 cm
13. Still life with duck eggs and herbs
2014
oil on linen
41 x 51
14. Figure with fruit and bread
2013
oil on linen
41 x 51
cm
15. Ranunculus
2014
oil on linen
36 x 31
cm
16. Cherries
2014
oil on linen
36 x 31
cm
17. Arabian pot with apples
2014
oil on linen
31 x 36
cm
18. Coffee with bread and jam
2014
oil on linen
31 x 36
cm
cm
19. Plums
2014
oil on linen
31 x 36
cm
20. Tea with rock cakes
2014
oil on linen
31 x 36
cm
21. Spring bouquet in Carnival glass jug
2014
pastel on paper
77 x 57
cm
22. Sunflowers, pomegranates and limes
2015
pastel on paper
77 x 57
cm
23. Amaryllis and apples
2015
pastel on paper
57 x 77
cm
24. Coffee and croissants
2015
pastel on paper
57 x 77
cm
25. Bouquet with fruit and yellow cloth
2015
pastel on paper
57 x 77
cm
26. Banksia and eucalypt flowers
2015
pastel on paper
71 x 56
cm
27. Pumpkin scones with fruit
2014
pastel on paper
52 x 69
cm
28. Daffodils, hyacinths and roses
2014
pastel on paper
63 x 48
cm
29. Poppies in Carlton Ware
2014
pastel on paper
63 x 48
cm
30. Ranunculus in Charlotte Rhead vase
2014
pastel on paper
63 x 48
cm
31. Edwardian jug and blue bottle
2014
pastel on paper
63 x 48
cm
32. Still life with Arabian pot
2014
pastel on paper
63 x 48
cm
33. Australian native flowers
2014
pastel on paper
48 x 63
cm
34. Mixed vegetables with copper pot
2015
pastel on paper
46 x 55
cm
35. Native flowers and watering can
2014
pastel on paper
29 x 36
cm
36. Summer flowers in Poole jug
2014
pastel on paper
29 x 36
cm
37. The pink chrysanthemum
2012
oil pastel on paper
29 x 33
cm
38. Native flowers with whisky jug
2012
oil pastel on paper
25 x 17
cm
39. Bouquet with iron pot
2013
gouache on paper
45 x 35
cm
40. Wattle, banksia, fruit and bread
2013
gouache on paper
28 x 38
cm
41. Chookyard with gobbler
2015
gouache on paper
35 x 50
cm
42. Farmyard with crossing paths
2015
gouache on paper
35 x 50
cm
43. Farmyard with clarion call
2015
gouache on paper
25 x 35
cm
44. Farmyard with feeding the chooks
2015
gouache on paper
25 x 35
cm
45. Farmyard with fence sitters
2015
gouache on paper
25 x 35
cm
79
WILLIAM ROBINSON
ISBN 978-0-9805765-8-0
9 780980 576580 >